A message from kanamaluka Wildlife Rehab's co-founders Jess and Duncan
A little over 12 months ago we took the plunge to register kanamaluka Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre as a business and not-for-profit charity. Our mission was to continue what we had already been doing in Tasmania - high standard wildlife care and rehabilitation, but now under a charity funded model.
Previous to settling in Tasmania in 2019, we had been privately rehabilitating wildlife for 15 years, however due to the increasing numbers of wildlife now in need of our skills, time and resources, we were finding it increasingly difficult to support our personal lives and the needs of our wildlife. Over time increased demand for our services had lead to us spending our house deposit, whole combined incomes and all of our time on Tasmania's wildlife - this was to the detriment of our personal wellbeing and was no longer practical or sustainable. We were struggling!
The Decision:
Because wildlife rehabilitators in Tasmania aren’t eligible for any benefits, government grants, rebates, or subsidies, we were left with the decision between closing our doors to save ourselves or asking for community support under a new charity funded model
We simply couldn’t let our voiceless wildlife and passionate local community down and took the plunge to trust in the goodness of others to support us with our vision.
You stepped up and came to the aid of our cause, and we couldn’t be more grateful!
With your help, in the last 12 months, we have
· Seen over 450 Tasmanian native animals come through our doors along with over 50 invasive species and a number of domestics in need of a hand. · Rehabilitated and released many animals that would have been euthanised had we closed our doors. · Eased or ended the suffering of animals that would have otherwise been left to suffer long and painful deaths. · Conducted many assessments and consulted with vets, other wildlife services and the Tasmanian government to obtain the best outcomes for wildlife. · Supported the Northern Tasmanian wildlife carers and rescuers, providing assistance with food and practice items needed for wildlife rescue, care, and rehabilitation. · Engaged with the community and local schools encouraging a passion for wildlife through education and ongoing discussions on topics such as species preservation, ethics, science, environment, connection to country and more. · Become a relied upon, reliable and needed service in the north of Tasmania for Injured and orphaned wildlife rescue, drop off, rehabilitation, ethical euthanasia, advice, and assessment. · Engaged and educated enthusiastic community volunteers. · Improved upon our own knowledge, skills and understanding as wildlife professionals.
It’s been an absolute whirlwind, and we certainly weren’t expecting to grow so quickly!
The Big News – We’re moving!
As a result of our unexpected growth, we’ve rapidly outgrown our small rented acreage in Legana. We have recently been approved for a long term lease of a 90 acre property East of kanamaluka/River Tamar, at Pipers River!
Here we will be able to better accommodate the growing numbers of wildlife we’re seeing, as well as set up better facilities and infrastructure. We’ll also be able to do on-site soft releases, which has been proven to have better long-term outcomes for animals.
We’re again relying on the Tasmanian community for help!
Moving is a big deal, and we expect that this move will probably be trickier than your average move. We’ve never moved and re-set-up a whole rehab before, so we’re feeling a little bit daunted by the process ahead!
We’ll be moving and reusing as much of our current enclosure materials as possible, however, it’s inevitable that we’ll have to build new infrastructure to better accommodate our current and future wildlife.
Are you in a position to help? How can you help?
Monetary donations - First and foremost, we need monetary donations, these are vital and have kept us going for the past year. Moving and re-establishing is expensive and donations are needed now more than ever. If you’re in a position to donate, please consider helping us out!
Monetary donations will be put towards the materials, and set up costs of building enclosures, assessments area and nursery room.
Donations can be made here > https://www.kanamalukawildlife.org.au/donate
Lifters and movers – We need strong people who can help load and unload for us. This position does not include contact with wildlife, but trust us, you’re definitely helping them by helping us.
Diggers and enclosure building – we’d love to hear from anyone who is handy with fencing, building, has prior enclosure building experience or has access to a digger.
Materials- If anyone has fencing materials, Colourbond fencing, roofing iron, wire, or anything else useful for enclosure building, we'd love to hear from you.
Please get in touch via messenger or email at kanamalukawildlife@gmail.com We're very busy at the moment, so may not get back to you straight away... Thanks for understanding!
Please also share this post, we need all the help we can get!
Big love,
Jess and Duncan